Stickability

So, you have an idea for a book. You think it's really cool. You start writing and you get to chapter three... and then you get bored and give up. This is a common thing! Believe me, I know. The problem is, the gap between a cool idea and a finished book perhaps seems a step too far for many writers. What you really need is one thing... stickability,

If your story idea was good enough to begin to write, it is good enough to continue being written. Believe that. Of course, stickability is not something which you can just have and use. It has to be a conscious decision. Tell yourself "I will write 1000 words of my novel every day and then when it is complete, I will go back and make it into a real book."

The road of writing is a long and complicated one, with lots of different routes and stumbling blocks and countless different destinations. But all of us slogging along this road are united in our love of writing. Finish your book. Stick to it. Give it all that it deserves. I believe in your book's potential. You will get there - honestly.

Zoe

Writing Every Day

Since my last update, I have got a laptop. This has been a huge blessing as it means I can write a lot more often! It is great to be able to write most days, but, obviously, it is difficult to commit to this, especially if you are new to writing.

When you first get an idea, quite often you are really excited about it and write a lot, but gradually it all peters out. Don't be discouraged if this happens to you. Just spend a little time not writing, and thinking about where your story could go. Go over it in your head until you know exactly what to put down on the paper when you come back to the writing.

If you are really on a roll, don't just keep going until you are totally worn out. Stop while you know what's happening next and come back to it the next day. That way, you always want to go back to it, and you are never tempted to just leave your work untouched.

I hope you found this advice helpful, and you find committing to your writing that little bit easier.

Writers' Circles - A Must for Every Budding Writer!

I am tempted to say that joining my Writers' Circle was the best thing I ever did for my writing. Honestly, it makes all the difference.

I've found that being a lone author is, well, lonely. And it keeps you so out of the loop. You don't have the contacts with people who know the publishing business inside out, you don't have the opportunity to talk about your writing with people who really understand, you don't feel pushed to work harder. Well, all that changes once you're in your writers' group.

Every meeting is useful. You can talk to other writers about what is going on with your writing, you can hear of their stories of success and failure which is really helpful. When you here about the amazing things they've achieved, you always want to go home and write for all you're worth. It injects you with a new vigour. Also, you'll find that a lot of your fellow group members have the amazing ability to sniff out each and every great competition, new publisher, anything which could be helpful to you. Being part of a writers' circle lets you get into loads of events which are otherwise not available to you. You will learn all about writing in different genres. You will have the opportunity to have your writing evaluated by the other writers. The best thing about being in a writers' circle is probably the workshops they have. You will meet some amazing writers, as well as publishers who will give you great advice.

You may think that you are not good enough to be in a writers' group, but that is never the case. Writers of all abilities are welcomed with open arms and very soon, you will be a much better writer and feel much more worthy of being called a "writer".

I hope that was helpful to you in some way and encouraged you to join a writers' circle! I urge you now, sniff about and visit one. Have a look and see if it's for you.

Editing your Writing

After a while, you become so familiar with your own writing, that you cannot see the issues with it. When I first showed a friend my writing, I thought I was handing in a perfect manuscript, totally flawless. In fact, it was littered with problems - overuse of adverbs, misuse of words, grammatical mistakes... the list goes on.

I am so glad I decided to show my writing to this friend before entering it into a competition. The manuscript I eventually handed in was much stronger than the original and it did really well!

However, I do think you need to be careful. Once you have got opinions from others, you need to make sure you don't just change everything unless you absolutely agree with it. At the end of the day, it's your work. But then again, if people see big issues in it, then what's to say publishers won't?

Good luck!

Success!

Just a little interruption of my usual posts...

Do you remember the post I did a few months ago about entering competitions? Well it paid off! I got Highly Commended, and they didn't even know my age! Getting encouragement like this is invaluable, so I would seriously recommend you go ahead and enter a competition! If you never try, you'll never succeed. So go for it!

Good luck!

Zoe :)

Talking About Your Writing

Whenever you tell your friends and family you're writing a book, the chances are, they'll be very interested. This can be good, but not necessarily.
My family know basically all there is to know about my book. A few of my writer friends have seen it and know it fairly well, but other than that, most people know the title, if even that.
There's been many a time when I've been talking to my family about my book, and they've had a brainwave that has got me right out of my writers' block, and given me back all my confidence in the book. However, to someone who doesn't know the story anywhere near as well as you do, it can seem very different. It's hard to explain your story from scratch, and even if you can do that, it's hard to sell it. My advice is, if someone gives you specific advice specifically about your story, don't feel as though you have to take it. Think it through first, and decide whether it is really what YOU want and genuinely feel would be best for the story.

Zoe Xxx

Thinking about your Writing

When I was very young, I would constantly have a story going on in my head, not even one that I would ever write down. I would wander round the house or playground muttering to myself, and thinking over different plot lines and ideas. People thought I was mad! But the thing is, if I hadn't done this, I wouldn't be where I am today.
I am not suggesting you try this, but I do think you should always be thinking about your story. Where should it go from here? Is this idea good enough? Play it out in your head, go over details you're unsure of. Work on building out an outline for your story, or filling in some tricky sections. Think of some good phrases and dialogue. Try out different opening lines. Always be on the lookout for inspiration!
There is little worse than sitting down with your pen and paper (or more likely your keyboard and computer screen) and having no idea what to write. If you do this, the ideas will flow, and you'll know exactly what to do. Even if you don't get much time to sit down and write, at least when you do, you will have a lot to do!
Good luck,
Zoe